Chapter 3

Perhaps my refusal to move had given Jane the wrong idea. A strange look flickered across her eyes as she stepped forward and took my hand. "Conrad, listen to me…"

The trick that had worked on me countless times before finally had no effect.

When she first told me she wanted to remain childfree, I reacted strongly. Even then, she simply said, "You need to think about my career. Having a baby will ruin my figure. How am I supposed to make it onto my dream runway?"

When she decided to get pregnant with Diego's child, she merely frowned at my desperate attempts to stop her. "Your petty behavior is making me question my choice in you. Don't make me look down on you, Conrad."

The memories I had buried long ago suddenly came back. Cold sweat broke out across my forehead. It wasn't until I touched the wedding ring that I finally calmed down.

I pulled my hand free from Jane and looked at her indifferently. "Mrs. Ford, know your place. You shouldn't get too close to a married man."

She was taken aback. Just as she was about to demand an explanation, a small human cannonball barreled into her and knocked her aside. "Stay away from my daddy!"

Tyler stood in front of me like a bull, snorting and glaring at the unwelcome intruder. "Mommy said all women who get close to my daddy are bad!"

I didn't know how to feel about his reaction. I had no idea what Alaia had been teaching him. She had always been insecure, convinced other women were after me.

To reassure her, we rarely spent time apart unless one of us had to deal with something involving Tyler.

"Okay, Tyler. Come on. Let's see if Mommy's here yet."

I patted him on the head and took his hand. Just as we were ready to leave, someone blocked us. "You stole my championship! My daddy said you paid off the judges! I should've won!"

That would be Diego and Jane's son, Ansel Ford.

Before I could react, the riding crop in his hand whipped through the air. My eyes widened. I immediately pulled Tyler into my arms and shielded him.

A young boy like Ansel shouldn't have had that much strength, yet the crop was lined with tiny barbs that tore viciously into my back.

I hissed in pain, but I ignored it and checked Tyler first. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

He was terrified and burst into tears the second he heard my voice. "Daddy, I'm scared…"

"It's okay, sweetheart. Daddy's right here."

I gently stroked his head, then stared coldly at Diego and Jane. "Is this the kid you've raised? Apologize to my son!"

Jane's expression was complicated as her eyes moved between Tyler and me. In the end, she sighed.

"Conrad, is this a child you adopted? I don't know why you're lying about it, but this place isn't where you or that boy belong. Once I'm done dealing with things here, we'll sit down and talk.

"You can send the kid away, and we can go back to enjoying our time together, just the two of us. What do you say?"

I frowned deeply, perplexed at how she had come to the conclusion that Tyler was my adopted son. I pulled out my phone and was about to call Alaia when a large hand came out of nowhere and snatched it away.

"Sir, I suspect your phone may contain private information belonging to the parents at our kindergarten. I'll confiscate it for now."

The commotion drew everyone's attention. One by one, the other parents looked over.